Letters: Vote ‘no’ on referendum

In a recent letter, Nan Hallock recommends voting in favor of the referendum question on the Nov. 8 ballot in the city of Manitowoc. I wonder if she has actually read the proposed amendment to our federal Constitution, the so-called “We the People Amendment,” for which this referendum seeks support? The devil in this proposed amendment is, of course, in its details. So one must read it to discover its inherent threat to our First Amendment rights.

Ms. Hallock’s letter cites $300 million “spent on political ads by incorporated interest groups.” The implication, of course, is that those incorporated groups are all composed of large corporations.

However, many of those incorporated groups are independent citizen action groups, devoted to promoting one or more political arguments and political candidates who support such arguments. One way this is accomplished is through advertisements and dissemination of literature. Why is that wrong? This is, simply, free speech.

Under the very dangerous “We the People Amendment,” “Congress shall not construe the spending of money to influence elections to be speech under the First Amendment.” Therefore, this misbegotten proposal allows the government, even local government, to “… prohibit contributions and expenditures …” by free citizens in support of their political beliefs.

Wow! What an outrageous destruction of free speech.

So, if I wanted to purchase an ad in my local newspaper, advocating support for a particular candidate or ballot measure, I could, at the whim of the federal, state or local government, be prohibited from doing so under threat of federal prosecution.

Sounds more like the old Soviet Union than the United States of America.

For the sake of our free speech rights, vote "NO" on this referendum Nov. 8.